“Request Rahul Gandhi to Describe the Rs. 1,600 Cr. Hafta Vasooli”: Amit Shah Cries Over Electoral Bonds in the India Bloc
According to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate electoral bonds would restore the dominance of dark money in politics.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is binding on all citizens and I respect their verdict on electoral bonds,” Shah said during a speech at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit. However, in my view, bonds had almost put a stop to illicit money in politics. This is the reason why Rahul Gandhi’s whole India bloc opposed bonds and favored returning to the previous political order based on the reduction of money.
He gave the following justification for the charge: “In the past, contributions would arrive in cash. In other words, if someone donated Rs 1,500, Rs 100 would go to the party fund and the remaining amount would end up in the party leader’s wallet. This total sum would be deposited by check into the party fund once bonds arrived. The INDIA bloc was not used to this. They only cared that their generation should live in prosperity, not how much money was spent on political campaigns or elections.
The home minister said that the BJP supported an open system. The BJP received 81% of its monetary contributions in 2014 from anonymous donors. This percentage dropped to 17% in 2018. By 2023, it had dropped to only 3%. Regarding secrecy, since we operate under a federal system, we wanted to prevent a scenario in which a state government takes vengeance on someone for refusing to provide them with funding. Thus, the phrase about secrecy was included. Transparency is something we value highly.
“We have been accused that we got a lot of money via bonds but so did the India bloc,” Shah added, refuting the claim that the party had gathered enormous sums of money via bonds. Every state has 17 governments, 303 seats, and party units. We received a significant amount of funding in bonds in 2019 when the Model Code of Conduct was in effect and no new plans or regulations could be disclosed. After the MCC was implemented, we received more than 90% of the money in bonds. Therefore, it is untrue to say that it was influencing government policy.
Shah made fun of Rahul Gandhi, saying, “Gandhi also got Rs 1,600 crore,” after the latter had referred to the bonds as “hafta vasooli.” He has to clarify where he obtained the “hafta vasooli.” We claim the gift is transparent, but he has to provide more information if he claims it is vasooli.
Shah said, “I am telling you that once the details are declared, the India camp will not be able to show its face,” when asked whether the BJP would release the list of contributors as other parties have. All Gandhi has to do is recite speeches that have been written for him. He is unaware that he has wounded his own foot.
On February 15, 2024, the Indian Supreme Court declared the electoral bond system to be “unconstitutional” and invalidated it. The plan’s anonymous contributions to political parties, according to the court, violate the right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Additionally, the court said that the plan is “unconstitutional, not foolproof,” and that political parties may use it to force individuals to donate.
